Visit Scotland is under-performing

Friday, 23 March 2012 22:01

28 Comments

By Chad MacGregor

Scotland has always been a must-see destination for millions of Americans and Canadians looking to explore their family roots. The United States and Canada make up the largest number of international visitors to Scotland each year contributing more than £806 million annually to the Scottish economy. However, I have been extremely disappointed with the Visit Scotland campaign in the United States and Canada in recent years.

A glimpse of a happy land called Scotland

Friday, 23 March 2012 20:08

8 Comments

By Kenneth Roy

Christopher Small, Marxist, Oxbridge, fiercely intelligent, non-sporty, literary editor and dramatic critic:
‘Why is it, Willie, that working-class Scots are so addicted to the game of football?’
William Hunter, Old Left, Paisley Grammar School, of dark humour, sporty, columnist and football writer:
‘Because it’s all they’ve got’.

When this exchange took place, it was not true that football was all they’d got. They had full employment. They were still building ships on the Clyde and mass-producing cars at Linwood.

Agreement on the Scotland Bill: A step to full independence

Thursday, 22 March 2012 20:34

64 Comments

By Hazel Lewry

On Budget day there was a news item, buried by the budget news, which was spun by the Unionist press as a capitulation by Alex Salmond: the SNP had agreed not to obstruct the Scotland bill. This is presently only an agreement in principle, but it should be anticipated to progress in good faith.

Scotland’s gender scandal: Part 2 – If you’re a woman in Scottish business, it pays not to be Scottish

Thursday, 22 March 2012 02:47

7 Comments

By Kenneth Roy

The UK government wants to achieve 25% female representation in corporate boardrooms by 2015. But is the public sector setting an example which the private sector might feel inclined to follow? We showed yesterday how, in Scotland, it is not.

We named a couple of dozen major public bodies – including such institutions as Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Water, VisitScotland, Creative Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Scottish Law Commission – which fail to meet the modest 25% target. We named three organisations – Quality Meat, the Lands Tribunal, the Water Industry Commission – which are female-free zones.

Big trouble in Labour’s last strongholds

Wednesday, 21 March 2012 21:41

19 Comments

By Alistair Whyte

Labour are in turmoil, both in Glasgow and in Lanarkshire. These two councils have been Labour Strongholds for decades. I live in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire.

Even in the days before North Lanarkshire, Cumbernauld belonged to Cumbernauld & Kilsyth District Council, and at a higher level, Dumbartonshire.